News

Our child car safety seat recovery trial program at Kdisafe House at Herston (50 Bramston Tce Herston) during the Ekka weekend August 12 and 13 (9am to 5pm), offers parents a free and environmentally-friendly option for disposing old or unwanted child car restraints. By collecting and disassembling the seats on-site, the national program aims to divert in excess of 900 tonnes of waste away from landfill and back into the recycling stream.

Families can do their bit to reduce their environmental footprint by disposing of their used child car safety seats during this trial. The following types of child car safety seats will be acceptable for disposal at the collection sites:

Rear facing infant carriers and bases.

Forward facing seats.

Booster seats.

A child may outgrow more than two or even three safety seats before they are old enough to sit in a car without one. While some parents may choose to re-use seats or purchase them secondhand, you should dispose of child car seats 10 years after the date of manufacture. This is to ensure outdated and potentially unsafe products are removed from the market and replaced by child restraints that meet updated safety standards. Disposing of a child car safety seat once it reaches its fixed life span or after it has been involved in a crash can give parents peace of mind that their child will be protected.

Removing worn or damaged child car safety seats from being reused not only better protects children and infants, but provides an opportunity to responsibly divert seats into an efficient resource recovery and recycling program. Currently most disposed child car safety seats find their way to landfill, when approximately 90% of the seat is of recyclable material. PLease do not leave your seats out for Council footpath collections!

The trial is being conducted by Equilibrium with Kidsafe Qld and has received funding and support from the Queensland and NSW Governments (Waste Less Recycle More Initiative), Victorian Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group as well as major car seat brands including Dorel and InfaSecure and automotive association representatives from RACV, NRMA, RAA, and RACT.

CEO of Kidsafe Queensland said that the many of the fatal and
non-fatal drowning’s occur when the gate is no longer self-closing or
has been propped open.

“It is essential that everyone check their pool gate hinges and
latches and make sure they self close and lock,” Susan said, “the number
of young children drowning in pools is unacceptable.

“We have a week to make sure our pools meet the legislation which includes 4-sided fences.

“Kids have drowned by crawling through the cat or dog flap”.

In a study conducted in Queensland 2002-2008 for children and adolescents aged 0-19yrs (and recently published) **:

Every year in Queensland about 63 children aged between 0-4 years are rescued from a pool – and 6 of those will be fatal.

80% of pool drowning is in the age groups of 0-4 years. 75% of pool drowning is in the age group of 1-4yrs.

1-4yrs are particularly vulnerable and, generally after 4yrs have possibly started swimming lessons

2 year olds have the highest drowning rate (37/100,000) and a risk 18 times that of 5-19yrs of drowning in a pool.

In the 0-4ears age group a child is three times more likely to drown
in an unfenced pool, or a pool that has access from the house, than a
pool fenced on four sides – which is the law in Queensland – no access
to the pool from the house – you must have 4-sided fences.

Between 2 and 5 years climbable objects have often been used by this
age group to gain access to the pool. These include pot plants, plastic
chairs (both adult and child’s), and tricycles.

88% of kids 0-14yrs retrieved from pools were inadequately supervised
(someone was not in the pool area). Social gatherings are a sure way to
distract adults – so are mobile phones.

Kids have been retrieved after having been found head first in the
water in a float ring. They are unable to right themselves. Jumping into
a ring from the side of the pool can result in the child’s arms being
caught and held above the head.

For every child or adolescent (0-19yrs) drowning fatality in
Queensland, ten others are rescued, revived and survive. Two out of
three of those survivors will be admitted to hospital.

Incidence rates associated with all drowning events in 2002-2008
(0-19yrs) showed an increasing trend. The largest proportion of this
trend is associated with non-fatal drowning which increased
significantly.

Pools accounted for half of all drowning events, and 43% were fatal.

Key messages

4-sided pool fencing is the safest way to protect young children from drowning.

All pools must have a self-closing gate and a fence that is
well-maintained. Never prop the pool gate open. Always have your child
within arm’s reach when your child is in the pool.

In 2010 legislation in Queensland put laws into place that mean all pools must be listed on a Pool Register.

It was also mandatory for any property with a pool which was rented
or sold would be required to be certified (by a qualified inspector)
that the fence and pool surrounds were safe.

Between 2010 and 2015 a phase-in period was allowed for ALL pools in
Queensland to acquire a pool fence compliance certificate by December
2015.

Kidsafe Queensland is very pleased to announce a partnership with the Mater Mothers Brisbane to provide a professional child car restraint fitting, checking and hire service at the Mater Hospital in South Brisbane. The service will begin on September 18 on Level 1 of the Hancock Street Car Park between 9.30am and 12.30pm but bookings are essential! Enter the carpark via Raymond Terrace, take a ticket and you will see the Kidsafe signs and bays directly in front of the Car Park Customer Service Centre. Tickets can be validated for free on completion of the service. Congratulations to Mater Mothers for extending the wonderful maternity services currently provided. To book go to www.kidsafeqld.com.au and click on the picture of the baby see below. Alternatively call Kidsafe on 3854 1829 for assistance in completing your booking.